Roger Ebert Remembers Mike Royko and BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS

I guess we all know who Roger Ebert was. He reviewed movies, and maybe we also all know that he wrote the screenplay to a sexy/violent Russ Meyer B-movie titled BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS.

What I didn't know was that his friend, Mike Royko, reviewed the movie in his column on July 10, 1970 and was not nice about it!

Maybe not so many people know who Royko is any more, but, like Ebert, he won a Pulitzer, and he was widely syndicated. I remember reading his columns in the Plain Dealer when I was in school in the 1970s. Mike was a great writer and a master at his column.

The essay, "Over and Out, Roger!" was reprinted in the book LIKE I WAS SAYIN', a collection of Royko columns from 1966 to the 1980s. I snagged it at a second hand store this past weekend. What a fun book. What a great writer. I thought I would see if the Ebert piece was online so I could share it.

I found something better.

Here is a 1999 video of Roger Ebert reading Mike Royko's column condemning BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. The occasion was the posthumous publication of ONE MORE TIME: THE BEST OF MIKE ROYKO. He talks about meeting Mike, an idol of his, and then reads the 1970 review.

Take a look.




Thanks to Media Burn for this.